2017 NFL Draft Rumor Results

I had an NFL Draft Rumors section last year that I updated daily. It came quite handy when compiling my 2017 NFL Draft, and besides, all of the rumors were fun to look at. As I was updating my 2017 NFL Draft Rumors page, I wondered which national reporters and local writers were the most accurate with their breaking news, sources and information. I did this for the 2015 rumors and 2016 rumors, so how did it hold up this past year?

I took a glance back and counted how many "wins" and "losses" each reporter had. I didn't look at whom they slotted in their mock drafts - we did that in our 2017 NFL Mock Draft Results page - but rather, my task was delving into reports that said "Team X really likes Player A," or "Team Y plans to trade up."

I've also included the best reports and five worst reports for 2017, so check those out below the following wins and losses (Note that these aren't exactly ordered by percentage; getting a report right is difficult, so I wanted to award those who had more correct. As a result, it's sort of a mixture). Follow @walterfootball for updates.

Best 2017 NFL Draft Reports

7. Tony Pauline was the first to call John Ross to the Bengals:

4/24: John Ross is in the conversation for the Bengals at No. 9 overall. - Tony Pauline, DraftAnalyst.com

6. It's difficult to call picks in the 20s, but Armando Salguero was all over the Dolphins selecting a defensive end, especially when there were conflicting reports that Miami would be all over Forrest Lamp.

4/25: The Dolphins would be happy with either Derek Barnett or Charles Harris. - Armando Salguero, Miami Herald

5. Most expected Christian McCaffrey to be chosen in the teens back in March. That changed when Peter Schrager published the following report:

4. Charlie Campbell dominated the rumors again, just as he did as far as correct mock draft picks are concerned. Many expected the Jets to take a quarterback early in the draft. Even Rich Eisen was confused about why they didn't. Eisen wouldn't have been perplexed had he read Charlie's report:

4/2: "The Jets are unlikely to draft a quarterback in the early rounds, as they aren't impressed with this class of quarterbacks overall." - Charlie Campbell, WalterFootball.com

3. Many suspected the Chiefs might select a quarterback if one were available at No. 27. However, one person said they'd move up for Patrick Mahomes:

4/27: The Chiefs love Patrick Mahomes and are willing to trade up for him. - Matthew Fairburn, NewYorkUpstate.com

2. Adam Schefter, Mel Kiper and Todd McShay combined to cause some controversy on draft day. There wouldn't have been any drama had everyone listened to Mary Kay Cabot and Michael Silver instead:

4. Many connected Deshaun Watson to the Jaguars leading up to the draft. Here was the strongest take:

4/27: There is growing chatter that the Jaguars will select Deshaun Watson at No. 4 overall. - Jason Cole, Yahoo!

3. Matt Miller had another rough year. He said the Bills loved Deshaun Watson (they didn't), and he also said this:

4/26: "Word from a league source: Chiefs trying to move up, but for an inside linebacker and not a quarterback. Reuben Foster/Jarrad Davis maybe?" - Matt Miller, NFL reporter

Andy Reid doesn't put much value on the inside linebacker position, so I found this report pretty dubious. Still, this wasn't as bad as saying Matt Barkley would be the seventh pick in the draft, or A.J. McCarron wouldn't get past the Bengals at No. 16, so things appear to be trending in the right direction, sort of.

2. Pro Football Weekly's Greg Gabriel made some interesting tweets prior to the draft. Unfortunately, most of them contained incorrect information. Here's an example:

I guess he was technically right because the Bears moved up to No. 2, but I don't think that's what he had in mind.

1. ESPN is leaking serious oil. Their ratings are down, they're firing hundreds of good employees, and their draft coverage was abysmal. Their reporting was especially horrible. Both Todd McShay and Mel Kiper mocked Mitchell Trubisky to the Browns on the morning of the draft because they were piggybacking on a report from Schefter that people around the league thought Trubisky would be the selection.

Making matters worse for Schefter, when the Bears traded up to No. 2, he told the camera that the move was for Solomon Thomas.

Schefter had no correct draft reports this season, which was shocking. The Schefter of old would've been all over the top three picks of the draft, yet he couldn't even get the first one right. This is just another example of ESPN capsizing.